I agree with Ryan. Pure Oracle jobs aren't hot as they used to be. We are
going through this right now. They are planning to bring in a bunch of new
developers and splitting a few DBA's into dev. groups, which means we'll
become more like software engineers (who can also do DBA stuff). There will
be only one Prod. DBA for a zillion systems.

They're driving in the direction of bringing in more cross-trained people.
They want all-aroind people who know Perl, Java, Oracle etc. The motto has
been: "If you get hit by a bus, he/she can do it". The more you know, the
better. Cross-training all the way. It's like that all-in-one
fax/printer/copier thing.

And at the same time, the paycheck isn't as it had been either.

Viktor

ryan_oracle_at_cox.net wrote:

my biggest concern is the model for development has been changed. The model
now is do most development with software engineers and have only a small
number of database people. this means less pure oracle jobs.
> > From: DENNIS WILLIAMS > Date: 2003/12/18 Thu PM 02:59:26 EST> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L > Subject: RE: RE: Career Advice> > Ryan - Excellent points. I well know the feeling of being tied to Oracle's> future. As to Oracle pricing itself out of the market, I would like to
make
> three points:> - Pricing is one of the quickest things a vendor can change once it> becomes convinced this is hurting it. On the other hand, I've seen
software
> vendors that stopped investing in new development. They aren't in business> anymore! because you can't quickly change that decision.> - Oracle being perceived as high priced tends to increase our salaries. A> company spends a lot of money on Oracle, so they want it used to good> advantage. The salary surveys I've seen show MS SQL Server DBA with lower> salaries on the average.> - Has anyone seen salary survey results for MySQL or PostgreSQL? The> database is free, so how much should a company spend on a DBA?> > Dennis Williams> DBA> Lifetouch, Inc.> dwilliams_at_lifetouch.com > > -----Original Message-----> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 1:19 PM> To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L> > > your goals should tie into the job market. you might absolutely love
Pascal
> programming, but I dont recommend studying it. > > Right now(and I dont know how it will fluctuate), there is far, far, far> more demand for Software Engineers who specialize in Java or .Net. Far,
far,
> far, more than people who specialize in the Oracle database. I think there> has been a fundamental shift in database development. In the past you
would
> hire mostly Oracle specialized people to do most of your development. They> would use forms or powerbuilder to do your GUIs.> > These days, a growing number of teams hire a large number of java or .Net> experts and only a handful of database people. is this the best way to go?
I
> dont know. I do see a trend though. How long will the trend last? I do not> know. > > The biggest problem for IT workers is that we are so tied to one specific> skillset and vendor. If Oracle prices themselves out of the market, our> skills become far less valued. Employees today want super specialized> skillsets. If you have them and they are hot, your set, but they wont be
hot
> forever and i! ts very hard to switch since people want experience in the> specific skillset before hiring you. > > > > From: "Thater, William" > > Date: 2003/12/18 Thu PM 01:44:37 EST> > To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L > > Subject: RE: Career Advice> > > > DENNIS WILLIAMS scribbled on the wall in glitter crayon:> > > > > Saira> > > I think you have to decide what your goal is. Then you need to> > > decide how to best accomplish that goal. One tool that can lead you> > > toward a goal is self-study. I have used that tool many times myself.> > > However, with experience you learn the self-study tool has its> > > limits. To consider self-study, consider the following questions:> > > > > > 1. Is this an area that I can gain significant knowledge with a> > > reasonable amount of effort? For example, are there good books> > > available? Is the area well-defined enough for self-study?> > > 2. Since I'm trying to substitute self-effort for work experience, is> > > this an area where there are few people with real work experience?> > > 3. Are there credentials that can be earned?> > > > i'd like to add one more...> > 4. is this something where getting it right will still give you a charge> > after doing it for 10 years or more?> > > > [and yes DBA and programming still do for me. but i'm finding the
chances
> > of being allowed to do it right are becoming few and far between.]> > > > --> > Bill "Shrek" Thater ORACLE DBA > > "I'm going to work my ticket if I can..." -- Gilwell song> > william.thater_at_carrier.utc.com> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------> > Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so. - Douglas Adams> > -- > > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net> > -- > > Author: Thater, William> > INET: William.Thater_at_carrier.utc.com> > > > Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com> > San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------> > To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message> > to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in> > the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L> > (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may> > also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
&! gt; >
> > -- > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net> -- > Author: > INET: ryan_oracle_at_cox.net> > Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com> San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services> ---------------------------------------------------------------------> To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message> to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in> the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L> (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may> also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).> -- > Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net> -- > Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS> INET: DWILLIAMS_at_LIFETOUCH.COM> > Fat City Network Services -- 858-53! 8-5051 http://www.fatcity.com> San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services> ---------------------------------------------------------------------> To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message> to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in> the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L> (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may> also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).>

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